PARK AND CEMETERY. 
4S8 
STUDY OF CONTINENTAL LANDSCAPE GARDENING 
An address by Albert D. Taylor before the Massachusetts 
Horticidtural Society, with Stereopticon Illustrations. 
In making a study of continental 
landscape gardening, one finds that 
the field to be covered must be con- 
sidered from a quite different view- 
point than would American landscape 
gardening be considered. This art as 
seen on the continent has flourished 
in varying degrees of intensity for a 
number of centuries, and unlike the 
art in the American field, the growth 
of which spans but a few decades, it 
has not continued to develop along 
a consistent path for any great num- 
her of years free from the impeding 
influences of outside factors. In our 
own country there are a few well- 
known exponents of the art whose 
dominating influences have raised it 
as such to the high standard of to- 
day. The names of such men as 
Downing, Repton, and Olmsted are 
those which we at once associate 
with its progress; We need but study 
the lives of these men to understand 
thoroughly the history underlying 
and affecting the growth of the field 
in America up to the present day. 
To cover comprehensively the Eu- 
ropean field in which the growth has 
been affected in widely different 
ways, the student must first bring to 
light the factors most potent in its 
history. I would not infer that by so 
doing I would advise making a com- 
plete historical study. It is only by 
such an investigation that one brings 
to light, not the names of a series of 
individuals, but rather a number of 
dominating influences which have 
been the important factors in its de- 
velopment. These are three in num- 
ber, and may be termed as: chrono- 
ogical, geographical, and political; 
each having its important bearing 
upon the varying character of conti- 
nental landscape gardening. 
To understand more clearly the 
meaning of these adjectives in their 
relation to the art, we first must un- 
derstand that from a chronological 
viewpoint, the gardens of ancient 
Italy are but the forerunners of those 
typical of the great Renaissance which 
in turn leads us down to the gardens 
of modern Europe, many of the best 
examples of which are but those of 
the great Renaissance period pre- 
served more or less carefully to the 
present dajc From a geographical 
standpoint we must consider the wide 
\ariation in the topography of the 
different garden spots on the conti- 
nent, ranging from the rugged land- 
scape of Italy to the great flat ex- 
panses of country seen throughout 
France. This topographical variation 
had its marked influence on the gen- 
eral design of the gardens laid out in 
these different countries. Last but 
not least, the political influence brought 
to bear by the different rulers — em- 
perors, popes, cardinals, and kings — 
affected the development of this art 
MAIN ENTRANCE DRIVE TO 
HISTORIC VILLA OF HADRIAN 
The Brick Retaining Wall was Originally 
Covered with Marble. 
in a way little dreamed of by the 
superficial ' observer. This influence 
was most marked in Italy from the 
days of ancient Rome up to and 
through the period of the high Ren- 
aissance, extending well into the 10th 
Century; there being but one notable 
illustration in the French history, 
namely, the Great Gardens of King 
Louis the 14th, surrounding the pal- 
ace at Versailles. 
Now that I have defined the influ- 
ential factors to be kept in mind dur- 
ing this discussion, let me say that 
while it is no difficult task to study 
the modern gardens of our own coun- 
try and from that study to formulate 
well-marked conclusions upon the 
existing and the growing tendencies 
of the profession today, I freely con- 
fess that it is with a great deal more 
difficulty that one is enabled to for- 
mulate conclusions concerning the 
status of the foreign art. 
To study continental gardens and 
their relation to the growth of this 
art, it is necessary to confine our- 
selves not alone to the modern prac- 
tice, but to turn back into the pages 
of history for authentic information. 
Strange to state the more we delve 
into the history of the subject the 
better informed we become with ref- 
rence to its status as existing in Eu- 
rope todajc This is not often a gen- 
erally accepted fact, but to the care- 
ful observer it at once becomes a 
stern reality. 
It is my' intention in the following 
discussion to confine »ny thoughts 
specifically to two great nations, a 
study of the gardens of which prac- 
tically covers the field of continental 
gardening. These countries are Italy 
and France, in which the art has had 
its most marked development. It is 
from these countries, too, that the 
other countries probably' have ob- 
tained their inspirations for the de- 
velopment of the art. The lover of 
gardening might dwell for hours on 
the numerous details of the notable 
